The In Defense of Black Studies Storytelling Fellowship is a program housed in the Department of African American Studies and African Diaspora Studies (AAS) that produces digital content for public-facing scholarship in and engagement with Black Studies. This program was funded by generous one-time support from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost from January 2026 through August 2026 and is lead by the team of Professor Tianna S. Paschel, Lecturer David Kyeu, Project Manager Barbara Montano, and Graduate Student Assistant/Lead Fellow Sam Jean-Francois.
In a moment where Black Studies is under sustained attack—from the defunding of Critical Race Theory initiatives to the dismantling of doctoral programs—the work of the storytelling project is a vital mechanism of resistance. We view the work as a diasporic tapestry: a living fabric woven from the threads of ancestral wisdom, communal memory, and digital innovation.
Rooted in the lineage of Griots, world-builders, healers, and world-shatterers, this project highlights how Black storytelling, as an evolving practice, allows us to question normalized violence and counter the narratives that seek to flatten Black histories and material realities.
As part of the department’s In Defense of Black Studies initiatives, our undergraduate fellows—supported by graduate researcher—seek to turn actionable theory into a living archive, and amplify the interventions our department offers in the face of genocide, state-sanctioned violence, and dispossession. Fellows worked with department faculty to create digital content related to their field within the context of our present moment and documented our departmental programming. Together, the fellowship team produced a series of interviews with faculty named "Office Hours" to engage our faculty's research with a wider audience. Stay tuned for the publication of the series in fall 2026!